Coccolith-rich marker bands in the English Kimmeridge Clay

Abstract

Summary Thin coccolith-rich bands, in which coccoliths make up a major part of the rock, have been recorded at 11 horizons in the Kimmeridge Clay of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Surrey and Wiltshire and also in cliff sections at and adjacent to Kimmeridge Bay, Dorset. It seems likely that at least nine of these bands form persistent markers throughout southern and eastern England. The coccolithophorid assemblages are discussed and some species of Stradnerlithus are systematically described.